The Ruby Slippers
by thatlittlegoodgirl
Summary: Dorothy thought she was just an ordinary girl living with a not so ordinary family. She also thought that nothing good would even happen to her until her godmother appears and revels her true destiny


A/N: This is just a little story I wrote for my English class and just decided to post it. Might go back and add to it and make it longer, put it into chapters, and change the ending. Please review, it would be so help full.

* * *

"The Ruby Slippers"

Once upon a time in a land far away called OZ there lived a girl named Dorothy. Dorothy was the daughter of a wealthy farmer, but when she was very little her mother died leaving her father very lonely and with a broken heart. Then, just after the second anniversary of her mother's death, Dorothy's father remarried a woman who was just as equally wealthy but extremely greedy. Her new stepmother, Helga, also had a daughter from her first marriage named Priscilla, who was the same age as Dorothy.

Life was fine with her new stepfamily but as she grew older, Dorothy saw their real personalities coming to life. Her stepmother was cruel and heartless; her stepsister was brainless but because she was pretty nobody seemed to care. Helga didn't like the fact that Dorothy was better than her own daughter, so even at a young age Dorothy was given the worst jobs around the farm to punish her.

Dorothy never complained making her stepmother even madder. By the time she was sixteen, her other mother had spent so much money giving her own daughter everything she ever asked for Dorothy had nothing except for her old hand-me-downs and the small trivial gifts her unknowing father gave her on returning from his trips from the Emerald City.

Even more years pasted and nothing changed until the day a royal messenger was sent out to every corner of OZ proclaiming that the prince, who was also a very successful wizard, would be throwing a ball in the last month of the year in honor of his father, the king's birthday. The messenger also stated that every eligible girl was invited because the prince intended to find a bride at the ball.

When the messenger arrived at the farm where Dorothy lived, it was starting to get cooler which meant the year would be coming to an end soon and there would be little time to prepare for the ball. And because they lived close to the edge of the kingdom almost of their time would be spent on traveling to the Emerald City, where the royal family lived.

"Little girl, go at once to find your father in the fields and tell him to go fetch the dress and slippers I have ordered from the dressmaker for Priscilla. If you are not back by sundown, then I will be forced to throw you in the ash pile and make you sleep there." Helga yelled at Dorothy.

"Yes, Mother." She replied as she sat to but put on the heavy leather work boots. Dorothy could hear her stepfamily talking in the living room.

"I got you the finest dress, it's made of pure silk and satin and the most beautiful slippers to go with it. I'll also give you the best jewels so surely the prince will pick you to be his bride." Her stepmother said.

"Oh, thank you Mother! But what about Dorothy, surely she wants to go with us to the ball?" Priscilla asked her mother.

"Why would you think Dorothy would be coming with us? Who would keep the house clean and take care of all the animals while we're gone? Besides even if she managed to get all her chores done what would she wear? How would she get there? Now come and pack, but remember when you're dancing with the prince, don't ask questions like that, princes like girls with brains."

The pair quickly got up and went to their rooms to pack. Dorothy ran outside to find her father and to do what her stepmother had told her to do. On seeing he father Dorothy started to cry thinking of what she had heard. When her father saw her, he asked her what was wrong but she only replied by saying she was fine and then told him the message. Then she started to run off but before she could get far Dorothy turned back around to look at her father.

"Stop being such a cowardly lion!" She yelled at him with all the frustration that had built up in her. "Can't you stand up to that horrible woman and tell her stop to treating me so badly?"

"I'm sorry, Honey, I can't. I'm too afraid." He answered.

Hearing her father she took off in a sprint to her house. When she entered she saw that Helga and Priscilla had helped themselves to the dinner she had made, making her even more upset.

"Good to see that you won't be sleeping in the ash pile tonight." Her stepmother said. "Oh, and we'll be leaving bright and early tomorrow morning, so I you want to come make sure you have all your chores done including the new list I put on your bed."

"Yes, ma'am." Dorothy said quietly moving toward the broom cupboard at the end of the hallway where she slept. She could hear Priscilla trying to stifle her laughs because she knew her mother never intended to let Dorothy go the ball with them. The girl locked the door of the small cupboard, took off her dirty rags, slipped into her night gown, and cried herself to sleep, knowing that her stepsister would be the one marrying the prince in less than a month.

She woke up late the next morning and because she hadn't already been woken up by her stepsister demanding breakfast, Dorothy guessed they were already long gone. Her eyes were still puffy from crying and her body ached from all the hard work she did the day before, so she took advantage of being alone and took very long and hot shower, getting the cleanest she'd been in a long time. But even after scrubbing her skin over and over there was still a faint trace of dirt everywhere. After showering, drying off, and dressing back into her rags, she started her normal chores that included feeding the pigs, collecting eggs from the chickens, and cleaning out the horses' stables.

Dorothy worked slowly singing to herself and of the animals that stopped to listen. The girl also took longs breaks frequently to rest and daydream about the ball she wouldn't be attending. All of a sudden Dorothy heard a pop, like a bubble popping. Startled she turned around to see a beautiful woman standing behind her wearing a light, bubble-gum pink ball gown with a silver crown and matching wand.

"Don't be alarmed," The strange woman said. "I'm here to help you."

"But who are you?" Dorothy asked.

"I'm the Good Witch of the North but I'm also your god mother." She replied.

"My what?" The younger questioned.

"Your god mother. As soon as a little girl's mother dies I become their god mother, to help them whenever they need it. And today I can to help you get to the ball for it is in your destiny to meet the prince." The witch answered.

"How do you know I want to go to the ball?" Dorothy asked still trying to understand everything the woman was telling her.

"I've been watching you ever since your mother died, even closer since your father remarried, and I've seen the things that have happened to you. No girl, especially one as smart and kind hearted as you, should be treated like that." The witch could see more questions blooming in girl's mind but never let ask them. "I know you have more questions, my dear, but we have a ball to prepare for."

The next few weeks were all of a blur for Dorothy. Every day she was given beauty treatments and lessons on how to walk, talk, eat, sleep, and do everything else like a princess. Dorothy thought it was a little excessive but never complained because it seem like she was meant to do these things, so they came naturally. As the day of the ball crept sooner and sooner Dorothy became more and more worried that she wouldn't have enough time to travel to the Emerald City, but her god mother would simply tell her 'Don't worry, I have magic, and nothing is too impossible with a bit of magic.'

Then the day of the ball arrived and Dorothy trusted that the witch would get her there on time. And with all the rushing around with her lessons she didn't realize how much she had changed until she stood still in front of the full length mirror. All her scars from working in the fields were gone, every particle of dirt and ash had been erased, and her hair was long, think and the color of golden wheat right before the harvest.

"What kind of magic did you use to make me this beautiful?" Dorothy asked while the witch was pinning her hair up into an intricate bun.

"I didn't do anything. You've always been this beautiful, your stepmother has just always been too jealous to let you show it."

When the woman was done with Dorothy's hair it was already in the late afternoon, only a few short hours till the gates would open in the Emerald City. The girl could feel butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

"Now for your dress. What are you going to wear?" Her god mother asked.

"I don't own anything fancy or grand, only my old rags." Dorothy replied shamefully.

"Well then. What do you want to wear?"

"I don't know. Dress me in something that would please the prince." The girl answered.

"As you wish. Close your eyes and when I tell you to, open them." The woman said.

Being the girl that she was, Dorothy obeyed and when the witch told her to open her eyes, she couldn't believe the sight. She wore a full length ball gown that when she twirled it shimmered with shades of blue and purple. The bodice of the dress was embroidered with silver patterns of flowers and vines. The whole dress was also encrusted with pearls, diamonds, and other precious gems. When she turned to look at the back, which had been laced up delicate silk ribbons, Dorothy could see that pearls had been pinned into to the complicated bun on her head.

"You look stunning. The prince will surely notice you," Her god mother said looking at. "and lastly your shoes."

"Surprise me again." Dorothy laughed and closed her eyes.

"OK, open then." The older woman held in her hands a pair of the most beautiful slippers Dorothy had ever seen. They looked as if they were made of rubies in fact they were made entirely of rubies. "Try them on."

Dorothy expected them to feel cool and sharp but when she slipped them on they were as warm and soft as her old leather work boots. After she put on the boots, she looked again in the mirror.

"I can't wait to see the look on Priscilla's face when she sees that I'm prettier than her." Dorothy said.

"Yes, she'll be jealous but she won't know that it is you that she is jealous of." The witch replied.

"I completely forgot! What time is it?" Dorothy asked hurriedly. "We'll never make it in time. It has already started."

"Be calm, child. The slippers you wear are magical, simply tap your heels together and state where you want to go, and you shall be taken there."She said. "Remember when you get to the ball enter from the top of the staircase, so when you walk down everyone will see you shining like the stars at midnight. And don't lose the shoes, if you do won't be able to return. One last thing before you go, whatever you are wearing is yours to keep, and since it is magical it can never be damaged or ruined."

Dorothy smiled and gave god mother a hug.

"Thank you for everything. I don't know what I would have done without you."

"You're so very welcome, darling. Off you go if you want to dance with the prince." The woman replied.

Dorothy slowly walked into the middle of the room and began to tap her heels together.

"I want to go to the Emerald city, to the prince's ball." She said. It happened as fast as a blink. Dorothy heard a pop, similar to the one that her god mother had made, and found herself standing inside the palace in front of a set of heavy wooden doors that lead to the top of the grand staircase. She ran he hands down the sides of her dress, as if to smooth out imaginary wrinkles.

"Remember everything you learned." Dorothy said to herself. "You were born to be a princess." She took a few small steps and paused to let one of the royal servants open the huge doors. The nervous girl could hear music and the chattering of people trying to get the attention of the prince seeping through the cracks underneath the doors.

Then the man opened the doors with a loud and Dorothy walked through already getting the attention of those nearest the doors. She could hear them whispering but didn't stop as she made her down along the many steps. With every step she took more and more people stopped to look at her. The simmering jewels and ever changing colors made her look like a shimmering angel. By the time she got to the bottom of the staircase everyone had seen her, even some people in the band had stopped playing to gaze at her beauty.

Dorothy looked around at the faces of the guest, almost everyone of them thinking that they had no chance of wooing the prince as long as she was there. When she caught the glances of her stepfamily, she knew they didn't recognize her; her stepmother was pale and Priscilla was still trying to act like she was the most beautiful one in the whole kingdom. Priscilla couldn't have been more wrong.

The girl that now had all the confidence in the world her someone come up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder.

"May I have this dance?" He asked.

Dorothy knew at once who he was before he opened his mouth. The prince was tall, but not tall enough to tower over everyone, had sandy blond hair and dark hazel eyes that looked like someone had tried to squeeze every color into one tiny space.

"Yes, you may." She said thinking of her training. The prince held out his hand and she took it, following him to the center of the ballroom. He turned to look at where the band was stationed and waited for them to start playing again. Dancing came as naturally as talking to Dorothy, so instead of worrying about stepping on the prince's feet, she could enjoy making small talk with him.

"My name is James. The prince of OZ and the greatest wizard of them all, except of course the Good Witch of the North. To whom do I own this wonderful dance?" He asked spinning Dorothy in sync with the rest of the dancers.

"Hello James. It's a pleasure to meet you." She said.

"You know you don't have to be so formal around me. I'm not the king, well at least not yet." The prince said jokingly.

"Good I thought I was going to have to start calling you 'your highness' or 'your majesty'." Dorothy replied in the same joking manner.

"So no name then?" James asked sounding defeated.

"Nope." She said shaking her head, only because she didn't want Priscilla finding out it was her that was getting all of the prince's attention.

"I guess we'll just have to dance together the whole night until I can guess your name correctly." He answered perking up again.

"I guess so." Dorothy said turning once more to the music.

And so they danced all throughout the night only stopping when a royal official had to ask the question. The pair also couldn't stop talking; they asked questions about each other and what they thought about some of the other people attending the party. When the prince asked Dorothy questions about her life and family she always answered truthfully but never revealed anything that would give away her identity that she was trying so hard to protect. Every time the songs changed he would guess Dorothy's name and ask if she wanted a break and every time she answered the same both with a 'no'.

As the morning drew nearer and more people left, they remained dancing until the band was released from the ball room.

"I had a wonderful night," Dorothy told the prince giddy with emotions.

"Yes, me too." The prince said, by then he knew he was going to marry her. "I have a question for you."

"Another one?" She asked.

"This should be the last one." He answered

"OK, ask me your _last_ question." Dorothy said.

The prince took a deep breath and then Dorothy knew what he was going to ask. "Will you mar-"

"Excuse me. I would like to freshen up a bit." She said interrupting him.

"Umm, yes, of course. When you leave the ballroom it's the third door on the left." The prince answered surprised.

"I'll be right back. I promise." Dorothy quickly left the ballroom and walked to the powder room. She had to think. When Dorothy entered the smaller room she took her shoes of because her feet wore sore form dancing in them all night. After pacing back and forth for a minute she thought of an idea.

"I'll use my shoes to go where my god mother is and I'll ask her what I should do." She said out loud but little did she know that her stepsister was also in the powder room with her. Before Dorothy could retrieve her ruby slippers Priscilla ran out from where she was hiding and stole one of the shoes.

"Stop!" Dorothy yelled grabbing her other shoe and running out of the door. "That's mine."

About that time the prince came out of the ballroom to check on Dorothy. Seeing her flee he ran after her but because he couldn't see that Dorothy was chasing Priscilla he thought she was trying to leave.

"Wait! I never found out your name." He called after her, but she had disappeared from the main hallway. Defeated he returned to his room to try and figure out who this mystery woman was so he could marry her.

When Dorothy saw that she had lost both her stepsister and her other ruby slipper she stopped running. Without her other shoe she couldn't find her god mother, she couldn't ask her for advice, and she couldn't marry the prince. She wondered down the corridor until she found one of the servants' quarters. Dorothy quickly changed out of her ball gown and took down her bun, trading them of an old maids uniform and a simply braid running down her back. She had to hide her clothes so she carefully in the fireplace knowing that when she came back for them, they would be good as new. After calming down and deciding that she would look for the other shoe in the morning, she laid down on the warm hearth and fell instantly to sleep.

Dorothy was woken up by two other servants talking about what was happening around the palace.

"Did you hear about the shoe?" One of them asked the other. Dorothy got up from where she was laying and went to join their conversation.

"No, what about it?" The other asked.

"Well it was rumored that the cook found a slipper made entirely of rubies this morning when she went to start preparing for breakfast." The first servant replied.

"Where was is?" Dorothy asked intently.

"Apparently it was hidden in a pile of garbage and when the cook picked it up there wasn't a single smudge on it." The maid answered.

"I don't believe it. That's impossible!" The second servant said.

Ignoring her Dorothy continued. "What did she do with it?"

"Well if it was me that found the shoe I would had taken it and sold it so I could become rich and move out of here, but the cook supposedly took it straight to the prince knowing it must have belonged to someone at the ball." The first maid answered.

Dorothy was overwhelmed with joy when she heard about the shoes because it meant there was still a chance for her plan to work. She jumped up and walked quickly to the door but stopped before she could open it.

"What is the prince going to do with the shoe?" Dorothy asked.

"I think he's going to get every girl that was at the ball to try the slipper on to see if it fit and whoever it fits would be the prince's 'mystery girl'. I don't that's a very good way to do it because it could fit anyone." The girl replied.

"Exactly! It could fit anyone." Dorothy said leaving the room trying to find her throughout the huge palace.

"Wait you can't leave!" The young servant called out. "We have work to do."

"I think she's gone bonkers." The other girl said preparing for a long day's worth of work.

It wasn't very had to get to the prince's room because as soon as Dorothy found her way back to the ballroom all she had to do was follow the trail of girls and their mothers. If she was going to execute her plan she was going to act quickly. Since she was still wearing the maids' uniform it made it easier for her to walk around without being noticed.

While waiting for a time to interrupt she saw her stepsister and Helga leaving the room. Priscilla was crying but in-between sobs Dorothy could make out what she was saying. "As soon as I saw it I thought… it was going to fit...but when I put it on my left foot it seemed…to shrink and…and then when I tried it on my right…foot it was too big."

Then before the royal servant standing by the door could let anyone else in Dorothy told him that the king requested that Prince James take a short break, and then she asked him if she could tell the prince what his father had stated. The old servant agreed and let Dorothy inside the prince's room.

As she stood quietly waiting for someone to address her, she could the Good Witch of the North standing beside the distraught looking prince. From what she gathered from the night before, the witch was a good friend and mentor to the prince.

"State your business." One of the advisors in the room said.

"I have to come to try on the ruby slipper." She said standing a little taller, like she was taught to do.

"You're just a maid. You can't be the one the royal highness is looking for." He replied.

"Let her try on. At this rate we might have to start looking at the staff anyway." The witch said giving Dorothy a slight wink.

"Fine." The advisor said willingly.

"Thank you, your majesty." Dorothy replied sitting in the chair that was provided. The advisor handed her the shoe and she slowly took off her borrowed shoe and slipped the ruby on onto her foot. As she expected, it was perfect. Everyone in the room gasped except for Dorothy and the witch for they knew what was going to happen. Dorothy could she a small glint of hope in the prince's eyes but she could also tell he needed more proof.

"I could show you where the other shoe and my dress is."She said taking of the ruby slipper.

"Lead the way." The prince said eager to see if she was the one he was looking for. Dorothy led the party to the now empty room where she had hidden her dress and shoe. After producing the clothing some were still not convinced, saying that she could have stumble upon them while cleaning one of the guest's rooms.

"Let me clean her up an dress her in the gown so you will see that she is the one the prince is looking for. The witch said taking the clothes from Dorothy and leading her into the room next door.

"Close your eyes, darling." She said and Dorothy happily obeyed. When she opened them all the ashes had been cleaned away and her hair was brushed and parts of it were pulled back with the pearl pins. Then the witch help Dorothy into the dress and laced it up while Dorothy put on both slippers.

The witch exited the room and announced to the awaiting crowd that Dorothy was ready. A servant opened the door slowly allowing her to step out. She looked just as beautiful as she did the night before. Then the prince knew for sure that she was the one that he was looking for.

"May I ask your name again so I can marry you?" The prince asked.

With a reassuring nod from her god mother, she replied. "My name is Dorothy."

"What a lovely name." he said in return.

In a few short days they were married and with the aid of the witch Dorothy looked even more splendid than she had before. Shortly after the wedding the king fell ill and died making Prince James king and Dorothy queen of OZ. They were later blessed with three sons and three daughters.

Dorothy's father divorced Helga and sold the farm to come live in the palace with his daughter and grandchildren. Helga and Priscilla were forced to become maids at the palace, where the earned they nicknames of 'tin man' and 'scarecrow' and for once Dorothy wasn't the only one who knew how cruel they were. But even after all the things they did to her, Dorothy never stooped down to their level and punished them. Instead she treated them with a kind heart and compassion which was worst than torture for them. After all was said and done the prince and Dorothy lived happily ever after and were known to be the best and most loved ruler in the history of OZ.

The End


End file.
